


Christmas with the Henderson's

by the_madhatter



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Requested, cute stuff, fluffy and bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-28 03:27:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13895274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_madhatter/pseuds/the_madhatter
Summary: Requested:  I love your writing! Can I request some Steve Harrington x reader where the reader is Dustin's cousin, who lives in England, and is visiting the Henderson’s for Christmas? She's only staying with them for a month or so, but Steve falls hard straight away and the kids are trying to convince him he should tell her before she leaves! X





	Christmas with the Henderson's

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: None
> 
> Author’s Note: Oh jeez, another long one. What is with me and long fics lately??? Holy moly I’m so sorry. Also it’s not my best and Steve isn’t really in character but I think it’s cute.

“Y/N’s here!  Y/N’s here!”  Dustin ran to the front door when he heard your car pull up.  “Mom!  Y/N’s here!”  He yelled to his mother who was in the kitchen, getting dinner ready for the two of you. 

“I know, Dusty.  She is.”  She cooed at her son.  She couldn’t help but smile at her son’s excitement.  You hadn’t visited in a while and Dustin missed you.  You were his favorite cousin, and the only one that really kept in touch since your family moved to England.  You pulled into the driveway, your rental car making the trip from the airport okay, but you couldn’t wait to be out of it.  You shut the car off and got out, stretching your legs as soon as your feet hit solid ground.  You had been driving for hours since you flew into the closet airport. 

“Y/N!”  Dustin yelled, running over to you and quickly brining you into a hug. 

“Hey, Dust.”  You smiled, hugging your younger cousin.  “Wanna help me bring my bags in?”  You asked once he was standing in front of you.  He smiled and nodded his head furiously.  “Cool.  Oh once we get inside I’ve got a surprise for you.”  You smiled, unloading your car and handing him one of your bags. 

“Really?  Awesome!  Y/N I have some really cool stuff I have to show you too.  Mike was helping me figure out which-“  Dustin continued to talk but he ran into the house and you could barely make out what he was saying.  You made it into the house and heard he was still talking to you as if he hadn’t just left you outside.  “And Will was missing for a long time but he’s back now.”  He concluded and turned to you with the widest smile he could possibly muster up.  “And Steve should be here soon too!  He’s bringing Mike over since Nancy couldn’t and he’s watching us with you while mom goes out.”  You weren’t sure what he was even talking about at this point so you just nodded and smiled. 

“Steve?”  You asked, not recognizing the name since Dustin had told you about all of his friend’s siblings. 

“Steve was Nancy’s boyfriend but they broke up.  And he helped us when Dart grew up and started attacking everything with his friends from the upside down.”  He started to go on another tangent and all the while you could hear your Aunt chuckling in the background, mumbling about his imagination and all the games he and the boys played before she headed to her room. 

“Y/N, I should only be gone a few hours, then we have all month together.”  Your aunt walked in, significantly more dressed up than she had a few minutes ago.  You vaguely remembered her mentioning a Christmas party she was going to the day you came in a few months ago. 

“That’s okay Auntie.  I’ll get to meet this Steve fellow and have some time with Dusty’s friends that he keeps going on about.”  You reassured her that you would fine and she left after giving the two of you big hugs and kisses. 

“They’ll be here any minute!”  Dustin was almost yelling, the day being one of the most exciting since the whole ordeal with the upside down stuff he kept going on about.  “What’s London like?”  He asked, settling down now. 

“Crowded.  But nice.  Our flat is small but it has to be since all of the houses are so close together.”  You answered him, trying not to get homesick so soon.  “Oh that reminds me.  I have a surprise for you.”  You smiled and headed to your luggage.  You pulled out a few different trinkets and handed them to your cousin.  “This is called a TARDIS.  There’s a show back home about a space traveling man in a telephone box.  He saves the world all the time.  When you come visit we’ll watch it.”  You dropped a few coins into his hand too.  “This is what we use for money over there.  I thought you might like to save these too.  Sorry they’re not the best gifts, Dust.”  You shrugged but you could see him beaming up at you. 

“They’re perfect Y/N!  Wait till the guys see them!”  He jumped up and brought you into a hug big enough to rival his mom’s.  Then there was a knock at the door and before either of you could answer it, five little heads were rushing into the living room.  You stood there dumbfounded; unaware you would be watching six kids until your aunt got home.  You had to resist the urge to cover your ears since the volume level had escalated tenfold.  Speechless you watched their interactions and how Dustin managed to get them all to listen to him once they calmed down a bit.  “This is my cousin from England, Y/N.”  He introduced you and you snapped out of the daze you were in. 

“Hello, Dustin’s friends.”  You smiled down at all of them.  Dustin introduced them all to you and then there was a cough from the front door.  Your head snapped up and your eyes met a pair of hazel ones that were locked on you.  You took a moment, remembered to breathe, and then finally spoke again.  “You must be the famous Steve.”  You felt your cheeks heat up slightly. 

The man in the doorway wasn’t speaking.  He was just staring at you.  “Yeah, that’s Steve.  He’s a real tool, but we still like him.”  One of the boys said, and then Steve’s eyes left you and stared down the boy who spoke.

“Good to meet you, famous Steve.  You know you don’t have to stand outside all night.”  You motioned for him to step inside and he did with a beet red face.  Dustin led all of his friends to his room, showing off the little gifts you had given him as he did so.  You were left alone with Steve in the living room until Dustin saw fit to include the two of you in his shenanigans.  You had a feeling it wouldn’t be long, since he had been so excited you were here to begin with. 

“Great to meet ya.”  Steve finally spoke and you couldn’t help but let out a small burst of laughter.  He looked at you a little hurt and a little confused.

“Dustin has said a lot about the great Steve and how he helped save the world.  I was just, I guess, expecting someone a little more eloquent?  A little more… Not who you actually are.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pleasant surprise.  I’ll stop.”  You tried to real back in everything that just left your mouth and had to stop talking just because the look he was giving you was if you had three heads. 

It was his turn to laugh now.  “Dustin talks about me?”  He asked, that being the only thing he decided to comment on.  

“Wouldn’t you if you were a kid his age?  Saving the world from Darts and monsters.”  You tried to get his stories right but by the laughing he was doing again you knew you had said something wrong. 

“Dart was just one of the many we had to fight.”  He corrected you and then headed over to the couch.  You followed him over and sat next to him, but positioned yourself so you were facing the stranger.  Steve was watching you with a grin plastered on his face.  Before you or Steve could say anything else, the kids came bounding in with figures and various boards and a book in their arms.  The two girls of the group came in after, much slower, and seemingly a little annoyed. 

“What’s up guys?”  You asked, watching them set up what you now assumed was what Dustin had called Dungeons and Dragons. 

“Mike came up with a new campaign!”  Lucas answered, sitting down with the rest after Dustin had cleared a space at the coffee table. 

“Girls, do you not play?”  You asked, the two with their arms crossed across their chests, watching their friends with boredom.  They shook their heads no.  “We could just put on a movie then?  I’ll make some snacks and I think Mrs. Henderson put some pizza’s in the oven.”  You patted the empty spaces on the couch and they headed over, sitting next to each other.  “Steve you pick a movie?”  You asked the man and he nodded, heading over to the VCR. 

“Indiana Jones or Ghostbusters?”  He asked, holding up the two tapes.  The boys all yelled Ghostbusters in unison and the girls didn’t seem to care either way.  You assumed it was because they had already seen them a few times before.  “Ghostbusters it is.”  Steve smiled, popping the tape in. 

You came back in with a bow of chips and a plate piled high with pizza.  All of the kids immediately helped themselves and settled down to watch the movie, the boys set aside their game for the moment.  You sat back down on the end of the couch, squished between the armrest and Steve.  He placed an arm over the back so you could have more room, but his movements just caused you to move closer.  You could feel him tense up when he felt the side of your body pressed to his.  Dustin turned to see if you were paying attention to the opening and when he saw you snuggled up next to Steve the widest grin you had seen on him since you arrived was on his face.  He was then nudging Mike who was next to him.  You saw Mike turn around, though you tried to focus on the film.  Then before you knew it, all the boys were looking at you and Steve. 

You looked to Dustin and held a finger to your lips to signal him to not say anything else.  He nodded and focused back on the movie and the pizza he held in his hands.  Steve relaxed about halfway through the movie, probably when he realized you had no plans on moving. 

You spent a lot of time with Steve after that.  Dustin and the rest of the boys insisted that the two of you spend time together. 

“Are you and Steve hanging out today?”  Dustin asked when you walked into the living room.  You had just woken up and hadn’t even had a chance to have your cup of coffee yet.  “Because if you are, could you drop me off at the arcade?”  He asked then before you could answer that he started to speak again. “Or you and Steve could hang out at the arcade and then you can play with us too!”  You only had a week left with your cousin and he wanted as much time with you as possible.  That, and he and his friends desperately wanted you and Steve to be together for some reason. 

“Sure, that’d be fun.”  You tired to sound awake and enthusiastic but your words were muffled by a yawn. 

“Great!  I’ll radio everyone.”  He jumped up and headed to his room.  You heard him over his walkie headset, telling the boys about some plan and that you were all going to the arcade today.  You shrugged off his enthusiasm and poured yourself a cup of coffee from the pot your aunt made before she went to work. 

“Bless you, Auntie.”  You hummed over your piping hot mug of pure joy.  As you sat in the kitchen and savored your coffee, Dustin came back in and made some waffles.  He sat with you and talked with his friends.  They talked about school, some kid that bullied them, Eleven practicing her powers, what order they were going to play the games at the arcade, and what they wanted for Christmas. 

You listened very carefully to what Dustin wanted, since you still had to get him and your aunt something. 

By the time you finished your coffee he and the boys were ready to meet up at the arcade.  “Just give me ten minutes to shower and get ready.”  You quickly washed your mug and headed to the bathroom.  You heard Dustin say that you had to get ready to see Steve and you held back from saying something. 

Dustin ran out to your car as you locked the door behind you.  “We have to pick up Lucas and Max.”  He jumped in the back seat.  You agreed as you started up the rental and headed to one house and then the other.  They were all jammed in the back seat and happy to finally get out when you pulled into the parking lot.  The kids lead you into the arcade and you were all met by Mike, El, and Will.  “Where’s Indy?  Marion is in the coop.”  Dustin whispered to Mike. 

The kids ran off after that and you were left following them around when you could find them among the machines.  You noticed that the boys kept looking towards the door, waiting for someone to walk in and you assumed it was Steve.  While they tried to save a princess, Max kicking all of their asses, you also started to continuously glance at the door. 

Then he walked in and you could feel your face heat up.  His eyes found yours almost instantly and when they did you could see his nervousness melt away and it was replaced with a grin.  “He’s here!”  Lucas was trying to whisper, but it came out as more of a yell.  Then you saw four heads run past you to meet Steve and then they all pushed him back outside. 

 

“You love Y/N!”  Dustin yelled at Steve who just stood there with his mouth agape.  He started to shake his head but Will stopped him. 

“We see the way you look at her.  It was nicer than you looked at Nancy.”  The quiet boy was bold with his words.  No boys all nodded in unison. 

“She’s only going to be here for like a week and then she’s leaving and you might not ever see her again!”  Mike was yelling too. 

“You guys have seen each other every day since she’s been here.  You can’t not love her.”  Lucas finally said.  And then the boys were quiet for the first time since pushing Steve outside. 

“Okay, yeah.  I fell hard.  But she can’t feel the same way.  It’s only been two weeks.  And she’s leaving so she probably set some stupid rule up where she isn’t going to see anyone that’s a thousand miles away from home.  What if she doesn’t feel the same way?  I can’t tell her.”  Steve shook his head and started to walk back to his car but all four boys grabbed hold of him. 

“Just go tell her!”  They all yelled, trying to drag the much larger man in to the arcade.

 

You watched through the door as the boys started yelling at Steve.  Then you watched, laughing as the four of them dragged him back into the arcade.  By the time they pushed Steve to you, you were still laughing and you could feel some tears escape your eyes and fall down your cheek.  El, who had been watching Max play the games while the boys were outside was now looking at you with concern and confusion.  “You’re crying.”  She pointed out.  Her voice almost a question. 

“They’re happy tears.”  Max said from the gaming console.  El just nodded as though she understood.  Then Dustin elbowed Steve in the side and coughed. 

“Can we- um.  Can we go talk in private?”  Steve asked you.  You quickly wiped the tears away and walked back outside with him.  Once there he brought you to his car and the two of you sat on his hood.  “There’s somethin’ we gotta talk about.”  He started and you could just feel the nervousness radiating off of him. 

“Steve.  I like you too.”  You answered, hoping that’s what he was getting at. 

He let out a sort of cough of a surprise.  “You do?”

“How could I not?”  You moved closer to him and he wrapped an arm around your shoulder.  “You’re the coolest, Steve Harrington.”  You dropped your voice slightly, trying to mimic his tone. 

“Is that- is that supposed to be me?  I don’t sound like that.  I don’t sound like that.”  He laughed and before you knew it his lips were on yours.  He pulled away almost as fast as he had kissed you.  You heard him mumble something under his breath and then he was spewing apologies.  “You’re leaving.  I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”  He kept repeating. 

“Steve.”  You swiveled your body so you were facing him and you put both your hands on his shoulders.  “Hey.”  You brought him back to you and your eyes were locked.  You loved these moments when you were just caught in each other’s eyes.  “What did you say a second ago before you apologized profusely for nothing?”  You asked, cocking your eyebrow, knowing he wouldn’t flat out tell you. 

“I love you.” He blurted the words out.    

Well you were wrong.  He flat out told you and your felt your heart leap out of your chest.  You sat in silence, processing the words.  You could feel him getting more anxious the longer you sat there without saying something.  You just searched his eyes for anything.  But at the moment all you saw was terror. 

“Steve.”  You finally said and you could see his heart fall.  But you couldn’t form any other words after that.  You wanted to tell him that in such a short time of knowing the man you were sure you loved him too.  You wanted to tell him that you wished you could stay with him always.  But, how could you tell a man you’ve know for two weeks that you thought he was the one?  Even if that man did just say he loved you.

“This was a mistake.”  He jumped off the hood of his car and tried to get in. 

“Steve.”  You repeated, still unable to find the words. 

You felt eyes on you and you turned around to see the boys and Max and El.  Dustin looked worried and then you found the courage.  “Steve.”  You started again, but your tone this time got him to look at you.  “Can you get out of the car?”  You asked.  He took a minute but he finally did.  “Okay so.  I am leaving.  I can’t change that.  But…”  You drifted off trying to find the right words.  “I can come back.  And you can come to London.  It’s nothing like Hawkins though.”  You started to ramble.  Then you stopped, looked him square in the eyes.  “I love you too.”  You finally said it and you could hear the cheering of the kids behind you. 

“Thought you’d never say it.”  He breathed then kissed you again. 

 

The last week of your visit was one you’d never forget.  Your Aunt let Steve stay over on Christmas after he spent some time with his family.  Dustin was ecstatic that the two of you were together finally, he had said it every chance he got.   

You sat next to Steve on the couch with your Aunt as Dustin opened his presents.  You had two of your own in your lap, one from your family and one from Steve.  But you waited to open your until your little cousin was done.  He got a bunch of different things, but he seemed to be the happiest when he opened the new reptile book he got from you.  “Oh wow, thanks Y/N!”  He jumped up and gave you a hug. 

“It’s the newest edition too, all the latest information on any lizard you could possibly imagine.  Took us ages to find it too.”  You smiled then looked over to Steve, who had been with you while you lost your shit in all four of the stores you had to go to searching for this particular book.  But he kept your meltdown between the two of you.  Steve rubbed you thigh as the two of you watched your Aunt open her gift.  She was careful unwrapping it to find a small black box.  She looked up at you and you could see the tears threatening to spill over.  She opened the box to see a small golden cat on a thin golden chain. 

“Y/N.  Honey, you shouldn’t have.”  She was crying now and pulling you close to her and squeezing you tight.  Steve was no help to you now that you were in your aunt’s arms. 

You completely forgot about your gifts and so did your family.  Dustin was looking through the rather large book you got him and your Aunt was in the kitchen making Christmas dinner after fawning over the necklace you bought her in the bathroom mirror for ten minutes.   You and Steve sat on the couch still, in silence as the two of you listened to Dustin read off various reptiles.  “Y/N.”  Steve whispered in your ear, careful to not disrupt Dustin.  “You have gifts to open.”  He motioned towards the two parcels you had cast aside.  Without bringing any attention to yourself you opened the one from your family first.  It was an envelope they wrapped.  Inside the envelope was a plane ticket for two months from now for you to come back.  You could feel yourself getting choked up. 

You would have thought that they would have gotten sick of you after spending a month with you.  Steve looked down at the ticket with wide eyes and smile.  He could wait two months to see you again.  Then he reached over and grabbed the gift from him and placed it in your lap.  “It’s not much.”  He shrugged.  “I can’t compete with a plane ticket.”  He was underestimating how much his gist would mean to you.

You opened it to find a familiar black box.  “You got this when we got the necklace didn’t you?”  You questioned him but you were only met with a smile.  You opened the box to find a set of silver rings.  “Steve?”  You asked, unsure of what to make of it. 

“They’re promise rings.  Since I can’t really propose I thought this the more sensible thing to do.  I had them engraved too.  Mine says London and yours says Hawkins.”  He was so unsure if what he got you was okay or not. 

“I love them.  And I love you.”  You placed your hands on either side of his face and kissed him.  “It’s not too much for only knowing you for a month.  It’s not too much at all.”  You said, trying to reassure his thoughts but also playfully making fun of the action since it was something couples did after years of dating, not a week. 

“The way you say it, makes it sound like this was a bad choice.  You’re right I should have just gotten you socks or something.”  He shrugged, trying to take the rings back. 

“Socks?”  You questioned, gripping the little box as tight as you could. 

“Yeah socks.”  He reached back for the box but you held it far enough away, the only way he could have gotten it was if he climbed over you. 

Dustin looked up from his reading and saw the two of you.  “Those the rings?”  He asked.  You looked at him in shock and then punched Steve in the shoulder for telling your little cousin.  Coming to the conclusion Steve probably asked Dustin if he thought it was an okay gift. 

 

You cried as you packed your car.  Steve helped you pack but he couldn’t go to the airport with you.  And your Aunt had to work so she had said her goodbyes the night before.  Dustin helped the two of you put everything in the rental, he was sad too but you told him you’d be back in two months.  He seemed more chipper after that.  Steve on the other hand was more of a wreck than you were.  He kept twisting the ring on his finger.  “Two months.”  You kept repeating to him every time you noticed him playing with the ring.

“Two months.”  He would say back, though he was more of a parrot at this point.  Once your car was completely packed you gave Dustin a big long hug.  Then moved to Steve.  “Two months.”  He said again and you nodded. 

You kissed him.  Long and passionately.  He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close.  But it wasn’t long before Dustin was coughing to get you two to stop.  Steve placed his forehead to yours.  “Two months.”  You said it one last time.  He kissed your forehead and you got into your car, managing to hold back your tears until you pulled out of the driveway and he could no longer see you.  It was going to be the longest two months of your life.  But you could wait for love.


End file.
